Training the Heavens

Chapter 368 Xi'an
I will not go into details about receiving the award. The process was similar to the previous two times. The only difference was that Zhang Xingjiu and Tang Feifan held a press conference after the award ceremony. They announced a lot of evidence of the Japanese invasion of China and revealed their greedy and brutal true face to the international community. This caused a certain response in the international community, but its current effect is still limited.

When he returned to China, he also brought a group of European and American scientists and journalists. In addition to academic exchanges, he also allowed them to witness with their own eyes the damage caused by the Japanese devils to China, and won some international support.

In the following two years, Zhang Xingjiu continued to teach at Tsinghua University. Thanks to the efforts of him and many of his colleagues, the quality of teaching in science, engineering, and medicine at Tsinghua University achieved rapid development, with very gratifying results.

Feeling that all the work was on the right track and that Tsinghua would continue its current development momentum even if he let go, Zhang Xingjiu resigned from the post of Dean of the School of Science and Engineering, while retaining the title of Honorary President of Tsinghua. He officially left Tsinghua University and prepared to lead some outstanding teachers to the northwest, southwest and other places.

When he left, the train station was once again crowded with people seeing him off. Although Zhang Xingjiu had been in Peking for only a little over two years, he had brought profound changes to Tsinghua University, and many teachers and students were reluctant to see him go.

After boarding the train and settling into the compartment, a student curiously asked, "Teacher, I feel that Tsinghua's current situation still has a lot of room for improvement. Why don't we stay a little longer? Even another year can bring more changes to Tsinghua."

Zhang Xingjiu sighed, "I know that, but the current situation makes it impossible to concentrate on teaching. My trip to Xi'an, Chongqing, Chengdu, and other places was nominally to balance the development of higher education in China and improve the quality of teaching in inland provinces, but in reality, it was to prepare for a rainy day."

"Teacher, what do you mean?" The expressions on the students' faces suddenly became serious.

"It's not just me who thinks so. The Nationalist government also knows that the north is now very unsafe! Have you forgotten what happened last year?" Zhang Xingjiu reminded, feeling helpless at the same time. They had already judged that the Japanese would continue to attack, but they just didn't prepare well.

"Are you talking about the southward migration of Peking cultural relics?" A student immediately remembered.

In January last year, the Nationalist government decided to move the cultural relics of Peking to the south, which aroused strong opposition from various public groups in Peking. The porters went on strike, but it still failed to prevent the move. In February, the first batch of more than 2000 boxes of cultural relics from the Peking Palace Museum arrived in Nanjing. After that, several batches of cultural relics went south. In a few years, these cultural relics will be moved again.

"Yes, they also feel that it's no longer safe to keep these cultural relics in Peking. If this is the case for cultural relics, how much more so for a university? Considering that the Japanese navy is far more powerful than that of the Republic of China, the coastal provinces, including Shanghai where Aurora University is located, will become very unsafe. Therefore, we must prepare in advance. Xi'an, Chongqing, Chengdu and other places are separated by natural barriers, so it won't be easy for the Japanese to break in. They are perfect for rear bases."

"So we have a heavy burden on our shoulders right now. Not only do we have to lay a solid foundation for establishing higher education locally, but we also have to prepare for the future relocation of universities from coastal areas and northern China! Furthermore, this matter cannot be made public, lest it cause panic among the people. The Nationalist government has no ability to deal with the Japanese, but dealing with us is easy. By then, arresting us would be a small matter, but delaying preparations would be a big problem!"

"Students, remember this!" The teachers and students in the box all wore serious expressions, taking their journey westward with increasing importance. They exchanged information with their companions and checked maps for a suitable location for the school. When the train arrived in Xi'an, the locals gave them a lavish reception. Even several high-ranking officials from the provincial and municipal governments were in attendance. They surrounded a bearded man who greeted Zhang Xingjiu on the platform.

After getting off the car, Zhang Xingjiu finally understood why. These officials probably didn't come for his face, but to show their support to the long-bearded man. When the long-bearded man saw Zhang Xingjiu, he hurried forward and greeted him. "Teacher, I happened to be working on an inspection tour in Shaanxi. When I heard you were here, I hurried over to greet you. It's been several years since we last met, right?"

"Bo Xun, there's no need to be so polite. The last time we met was in Nantong, right? Time flies so fast. It's been more than four years in the blink of an eye." Zhang Xingjiu said, holding his hand.

The visitor was Yu Boxun, a veteran of the Guo Party. He came to Shanghai to study at Aurora University shortly after it was founded. In fact, he was Zhang Xingjiu's real student. As for the last time they met in Nantong, it was to prepare for the private Nantong University founded by Zhang Jian. Yu Boxun was invited to serve as a school director and Zhang Xingjiu assisted in running the school. After that, the two were busy with their own things and it was indeed several years since they had seen each other.

"When Dean Yu heard that Mr. Zhang was coming to Xi'an, he was very happy. He said that he would invite Mr. Zhang to taste Xi'an's delicacies. Now the Xi'an Restaurant has prepared a banquet. Mr. Zhang, please come and have the pleasure." After they finished their greetings, several senior officials also came over to join in the fun.

Yu Boxun's qualifications are really too long, and he has a huge reputation in the northwest region, so even if Zheng Sanfazi is unhappy, he has to give him enough respect. Now he holds the high position of the President of the Supervisory Yuan, and wherever he goes, local officials treat him as a guest of honor.

"Sorry to bother you!" Zhang Xingjiu definitely didn't like them, but if he wanted to run schools in various places in Shaanxi, he also needed their support, so he dealt with it with a smile.

After arriving at a Xi'an restaurant and trying local specialties like gourd chicken, fish in milk soup, and golden thread oil pie, Zhang Xingjiu discussed his plans for the trip. "Currently, higher education in China is characterized by a strong south and weak north, and a rich east and poor west. Shaanxi, located in the northwest, is both weak and poor. It's incredibly difficult for students in Shaanxi and the entire northwest region to attend university," he said.

"Who says it's not true? I also traveled thousands of miles to Shanghai to get the opportunity to go to university. Now that the teacher is willing to come to Shaanxi to start a school, I will definitely support it wholeheartedly." Upon hearing this, Yu Boxun, who was born in Shaanxi, immediately thought of his own experience of studying back then, and was filled with emotion.

Promoting education is politically correct in any era, and since Yu Boxun has spoken, they naturally have to follow suit. "The government's accounts are indeed tight right now, but if it is to run schools, we have to come up with the money, even if we have to tighten our belts."

"I haven't saved much over the years. Even if I did, most of it was spent on running the school. Now I can be said to be short of money. But it doesn't matter. My calligraphy is still worth some money. Tomorrow I will advertise in the newspaper to sell my calligraphy, and all the money I earn will be given to the teacher to run the school!"

(End of this chapter)